Nitrome
|image1= |caption1=The Nitrome logo as seen on the Bomb Chicken website |type=Limited |employees=12 |founders=Mat Annal / Heather Stancliffe |based=London, England |site_url=Nitrome.com}} Nitrome (pronunciation), officially registered in the United Kingdom as Nitrome Limited, is a browser and mobile game development studio based in London, England, and founded on 10th August 2004. Nitrome was founded by Mat Annal and Heather Stancliffe but has now grown to have ten employees, helping with game development. Due to the small team and creativity of the group, new Flash games are released on regular basis (usually about two a month). The main income for the company is through advertising and licensing their games to larger Flash game websites. The majority of Nitrome's productions are Flash browser games. From 2012, Nitrome has been making forays into Facebook games and smartphone mobile games. Since 2018, they have also been making forays into console and PC games. All of their Flash games (except their advert games) can be played on Nitrome.com, their official website. As of November 2014 most of their games are in Unity and are available on browser, mobile and console. History Early days (2004-2005) Nitrome started up on 10th August 2004 and was founded by Heather Stancliffe and Mat Annal. Nitrome began as a result of Mat Annal wanting more freedom to create games, as Annal had previously worked on other advergames but was frustrated over the restrictiveness caused by clients.Internet Archive Wayback Machine: - Mochimedia: Mat Annal of Nitrome: FGS 5 Advisory Board Interview Series → A few jobs down the line, I was actually making games within the web space and at the time the only format to realistically use for that was Flash. This of course was all for clients, whom have a tendency to control your games to the point of them lacking the key creative elements I wanted to be able to introduce. I started Nitrome out of frustration with this situation and produced our first game “Hot Air” as a reaction to my lack of freedom up until that point. The office at the time was the size of a bedroom. For income, they made advergames (games made to advertise a product), such as Vege-Mania Game. About 11 months after Nitrome was founded, a conversation about mobile phone games stemmed up between Heather and Mat. Heather did not think it was such a good idea. After much persuasion, a mobile phone game finally went into production. Nitrome launched their site on 5th April 2005. Their mobile phone game Four Play was the only mobile phone game released. Chick Flick, Nitrome's first game in development, was abandoned due to lack of funding. Mat's brother, Jon joined the Nitrome team on 20th May 2005. Nitrome left the cellphone gaming business in 2005, and entered the browser flash games business. Flash games (2006-2008) Nitrome made a few advergames in 2005 before making their own games. Nitrome remade their site and released their first game Hot Air in 2005. They did not make much money off of it. Nitrome ported Chick Flick and released it on their site in 2006, after adding and removing features. Nitrome released several other games being sponsored by Miniclip, and also hired testers at first, but stopped. Games took a long time to make at that time. Nitrome hired more people the in 2007 and took less time to make games. Nitrome made sequels to some of their games, and during that year MTV Arcade sponsored a few games. They released skins so players could personalise the site, and released more the next year. Modern days (2008-2011) With more people hired in 2008, this allowed Nitrome to make even more games in less time. Nitrome's games also had a story; Nitrome released several popular games in 2008. Nitrome released sequels in 2009 for games released the same year. Ice Breaker released in January 2009 was hugely popular and spawned two sequels. Twin Shot also gained popularity, and gaining a sequel. Nitrome also tested out MochiCoins in Twin Shot 2. MochiCoins allowed players to buy coins and spend the coins on extra content in Twin Shot 2, or other MochiCoin games. Nitrome tried MochiCoins out on B.C. Bow Contest, but did not implement the software into any future games. In the end of December, Nitrome announced they would be on Facebook. Nitrome made more games in 2010, but in the summer, between July and September, Nitrome experienced a problem which prevented blog posts to be posted, and during this time no games were released for two months, the second longest Nitrome has ever went without a game release. During the two month drought, Nitrome worked on making the iOS game Super Feed Me, but after noticing a drop in their revenue, they returned to making flash games. A short time after this drought, Nitrome moved to central London. Nitrome released games in 2011 believed to have been "ported" from the Nitrome Enjoyment System. Nitrome in April began to post a blog post on every Weekday until the end of May. After this, Nitrome went back to there usual routine of posting only when there is Fan or New content, except they began posting a weekly Friday update informing fans of content that may or will be posted or released in the coming week. Nitrome had a big revamp on their website, called now "Nitrome.com 2.0", with a new feature for liking games and a huge aesthetic upgrade. They finally reached 100 games on 23rd November 2011, with the release of Nitrome Must Die. Premium games (2012-present) Nitrome announced in early 2012 the publishing of demos on their site, in order to get feedback for their posterior game releases, the first being Cheese Dreams 2 demo, released in 30th March. On 15 October of the same year, Nitrome released a new project, this time a game that would be purchasable on Steam, though it had to pass the Greenlight phase, in which Steam players had to decide if they wanted the game to be available to purchase or not. A demo of the game was released, this game called Flightless. They also announced in later 2012 the making of a brand new iOS game, Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, which they released on 20 June 2013 with publishing help from the Finnish entertainment company Rovio under their new publishing initiative, "Rovio Stars". However, Nitrome also worked on more games while they produced this fourth Icebreaker instalment. In 2013, Nitrome made another big update to their website; in which the long-awaited accounts were released, in which players could store their game data and was well getting badges and avatars for their performance on games, and keeping in touch with other gamers with a friends list feature. In June 2018, Nitrome shut down their account system prior to the creation of the GDPR law, and left an explanation on their website blog. Not long before they had announced that they had begun work on their first Nintendo Switch game, titled Bomb Chicken, which was released on July 12 later that year. Content created Since there inception, the majority of Nitrome content has been Flash based and free. However, at certain times, Nitrome has offered premium content under other medium. Starting 2012, Nitrome announced more premium content that was to be released. Nitrome acknowledged that the reason premium services such as iPhone and Steam were started up were due to Nitrome getting less and less money from Flash games. Mobile phone games Nitrome originally started off as a small company that was to create games to be played on cellphones. Of the two started mobile phone games - Four Play, and Chick Flick - only one was released. Four Play was released and criticized due to its slowness. Chick Flick were cancelled due to lack of funding, Nitrome abandoning the mobile version of Chick Flick and instead made the game in flash and released in for free. It was after Nitrome's short time in the mobile phone game business they shifted to Flash. More mobile games were later released, for iOS and Android devices (see below sections). Browser games :Main article: Category:Browser games Nitrome began making browser games in 2005 and have continued making them ever since, though their last browser game was released on January 28th, 2016. MochiCoins :Main article: MochiCoins It was in 2009 that Nitrome began experimenting with MochiCoins, a service that allowed companies to sell premium in-game content. Nitrome first used this system in Twin Shot 2, offering an extra 50 levels and a cheats system. Nitrome later used this system in B.C. Bow Contest, in the form of purchasable arrows, and yet again, a purchasable cheat system. Both MochiCoin supporting games also offered free content: Twin Shot 2 offered five free skins, and B.C. Bow Contests offered two free arrows. Nitrome eventually stopped using MochiCoins at the start of 2010. Prior to the release of MochiCoins, Nitrome stated how they would not be used in every game. iOS :Main article: Category:Mobile phone games Starting in 2009, Nitrome announced the development of Super Feed Me. What was Nitrome's intended first iOS game that was said to be "coming soon" was slowly worked on. As Nitrome devoted more of their time to making Flash games than making premium games, Super Feed Me was not worked on a lot. The development of the game in September 2010 was cut short by Nitrome's realisation of the drop in views to their site. It was this that caused Nitrome to look for an iOS programmer before attempting to work more on Super Feed Me. It was in 2012 that Nitrome began to work on two other iOS games - Nitrome Touchy and Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage. Due to the taking up of Flightless and the two aforementioned iOS projects, Nitrome has to postpone Super Feed Me's development, much to their fans dismay. Of the three iOS games, Nitrome Touchy and Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage are currently the only ones that have been released. Nitrome Touchy was released on 31st October 2012, and Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage was released on 20th June 2013. Nitrome has currently taken up a third "top secret" Nitrome iOS game, that is currently only 25% finished. Android :Main article: Category:Mobile phone games Nitrome's first Android app was Nitrome Touchy, released on 21st November 2012. The Android port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released on 7th May 2014 after being in development for 9 months.Nitrome blog: - Icebreaker Coming to Android! (July 2nd 2013, first mention of Android version) Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? (April 8th 2014, mention of the Android version being complete) Windows Phone :Main article: Category:Mobile phone games Announced on 15th July 2014, 8bit Doves will also be released on Windows Phone. Steam Back in September 2011, Nitrome previewed an image of an upcoming Steam game, Flightless. Not much was revealed about it, other than its artist. A year passed since its announcement, with nothing revealed about it. It was on 15th October 2012 that Nitrome released the Flightless Demo and announced that the game was on Steam Greenlight. They also urged fans to vote for it via advertisements on their site and other methods. Although the game was successfully greenlit, the game is currently not being worked on, but may be in the future. Console In July 2018, Nitrome released Bomb Chicken as their first Nintendo Switch game in America and Europe. On November 1 it was released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. Nitrome has since announced that Bomb Chicken will only be purchasable on the Nintendo Switch until January 2019, and that they plan to port it to Xbox One, PS4, and Steam. Revenue For many years ads and browser game derived content continued to be Nitrome's only source of revenue, though what type of browser game derived content has varied. When Nitrome first began to make browser games their only source of income came from sponsorship by sites like Miniclip, though early on Nitrome struggled to make a profit this way . Despite this, Nitrome still managed to bring in enough income from their flash games to fund others. For several years sponsorship made up the bulk of Nitrome's revenue, with a small amount of income also gained through site ads, game licenses, and royalties. The growth of Nitrome's site caused ads to become Nitrome's main source of revenue, something that would continue for all subsequent years. Nitrome's ad revenue in 2010 made up eighty five percent of their overall revenue , Nitrome's overall revenue during that time allowing them to have a staff of around 15. Though Nitrome managed to sustain themselves through those years , financial difficulties were encountered in 2011 The time this was done was late 2011.}} as traffic to Nitrome.com declined and with it the revenue Nitrome received from ads . It was around this time that development of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was started. From then on Nitrome still managed to bring in income, though it was not as much as what they made before. From 2013 onward, Nitrome also gains revenue from the mobile games and console games they produce, although what impact they have on Nitrome's overall revenue is not certain. Publishing In 2015 Nitrome announced the Nitrome publishing program, a publishing program where Nitrome would publish other developers' games. This program focuses on publishing games for a mobile platform, although games in the program can also be published on the Nitrome website if a browser version is made. Nitrome has said that games published under this program will be based in pixel-art graphics, be focused around a core query idea, and have a monetisation model that is morally acceptable to Nitrome. Games in this program are published by Nitrome under its mobile app store accounts. During development, Nitrome also assists developers by giving them advice and game content suggestions . Ultimate Briefcase was the first game published under this program, released on 4th February 2016, on the Apple App Store and Google Play . Art Nitrome's art style was influenced by that of the age of 16-bit video games. The use of pixel art in Nitrome's games dates back to development of Hot Air, where Annal wanted to make a game that was based around gameplay of the 16-bit era of video gaming, and with pixel art being a large influence of that time period it was used as the art style for Hot Air and later adopted as Nitrome's art style after Annal's enjoyment with it. The presence of other pixel artists later on at Nitrome further solidified the pixel art direction Nitrome had took for their graphics. Nitrome's art style early on was to aim for cute and bright graphics as this was the preference of Mat Annal. Not all Nitrome games at that time stuck to this though, as games such as Toxic and Final Ninja strayed from this art style. Nitrome later shifted away from the cute and bright art style to letting a game's game mechanic influence the art created for the game . Logo Nitrome's logo has always been the letters N-I-T-R-O-M-E displayed in a slanted line. The colours of the letter vary depending on where the logo is seen. There is a different colour scheme and background for the Nitrome logo in all games' Startups. The classic Nitrome logo was simply just pink and white letters, while the logo Nitrome used after the release of 2.0 revised the letters as bronze coloured (hues of yellow and orange). Nitrome button.gif|Nitrome 1.0 logo File:Nitrome logo.png|The logo as seen on Nitrome.com 2.0 Nitrome_logo.gif|The Nitrome 2.0 logo .gif, seen when the logo is hovered over with the cursor nitrome_logo_2.5.1.png|The logo as seen on Nitrome.com 2.5 nitrome_logo_rollover_2.5.1.gif|The Nitrome 2.5 logo .gif, seen when the logo is hovered over with the cursor Nitrome Logo Alt.png|An alternative version of the Nitrome logo as seen in this blog post Nitrome logo 2019.png|The Nitrome logo as seen in several advertisements for Bomb Chicken In-game references Nitrome has been referenced as a company in some of their games. In others, their website (nitrome.com) is shown as a level. Mutiny If the player is defeated by the Boys, their captain, (or whoever is left) will say, "That was fun! Just like a Nitrome video game! LOL!" Square Meal Square Meal has one level where all the stone blocks are arranged to look like the word "Nitrome". Square Meal - Level 42|The level with the Nitrome reference Nitrome Square Meal.png|The full Nitrome logo Bad Ice-Cream A level design with the word "Nitrome" is also present in Bad Ice-Cream Nitrome - Bad Ice-Cream - Level 36|The level with the reference Rainbogeddon Rainbogeddon has a level where the walls have openings that resemble the letters: N,I,T,R,O,M,E,.,C,O,M. Or Nitrome.com, in the top it says NITRO and in the middle it says ME and at the bottom it says .COM. Rgeddon_NITROME.png|Nitrome's appearance in Rainbogeddon Rubble Trouble Tokyo On level 31, the player has to destroy a giant screen with a level of Off the Rails on it. Before the player starts the level, the boss notices the giant screen and mentions Nitrome, with Barry and Garry responding by saying how "awesome" Nitrome is, and how they play their games. Nitrome Must Die Nitrome appears as a ruthless game making company who oppress the employees by torturing them and making them finish projects in a small amount of time. This is seen by the content on the walls of some levels. Two friends - Austin Carter and Justin Bennet - go to destroy Nitrome, after being fed up with losing so much at their games. Nitrome's fictional work building, Nitrome Towers, also makes an appearance; having 100 floors. Final Ninja On level 10, the word "Nitrome" appears as a vertical neon sign. Final Ninja Nitrome Reference.jpg|The Final Ninja reference The Glassworks The newspaper that the cyborgs read has a heading title of "NITR", but is cut off. The full title is probably "NITROME". GW_Cyborg.png|The Nitrome reference in The Glassworks Twin Shot 2 On level forty-one of the evil levels, the letters 'NITROME' are spelled out in grey blocks, via negative space. Nitrome_-_Twin_Shot_2.png|"Nitrome" spelled out in grey blocks Skywire VIP Shuffle The passengers in the last level of Skywire VIP Shuffle are employees from Nitrome. Nitrome2.png|Nitrome in Skywire VIP Shuffle Gunbrick (mobile) In Pack 1 level 1, there is graffiti outside the Gunbrick dude's apartment written in green paint that reads "Nitrome was here". Graffiti.png|The graffiti seen in level 1-1 in Gunbrick mobile Studio Location :Main article: Previous locations of Nitrome Since starting up, Nitrome has moved their office multiple times. Currently, they are located in an office titled "Nitrome Limited". Nitrome.com - Contact - Building is identified as Nitrome Limited, also, on the map there is an arrow pointing to where the building is located, the arrow identifying the building as "Nitrome Limited" Name origin Mat Annal stated in an interviewJay is Games: Nitrome stylesheet and interview! with Jay is Games that when he (Mat Annal) was creating Nitrome, he wanted to give the company a "made up name" so that mention of the name would mean only them (Nitrome) and so that they could get a dot com domain "that would rank highly in search engines under word Nitrome". Pronunciation The pronunciation of Nitrome comes from the word Nitro. Therefore, Nitrome is pronounced "nigh-trome" (or "nightrome") (enPR: nī'trōm, IPA(key): /ˈnaɪtrəʊm/) with a long "i" sound (like in the words "m'y'" and "r'i'''ce") and a silent "e". This pronunciation can be heard from the Nitrome staff in some of their videos on the Nitrome YouTube channelNitrome - 3D Game Tech DemoNitrome Skywire Ripoff. A slightly different pronunciation of the word can be heard from the announcer on the Nitrome Must Die menu, with the "i" being pronounced '/eɪ/''' instead of /aɪ/, which translates into "neigh-trome". Staff Nitrome has several staff which work on parts of games. A "-" means they have not left, as well as have not done work in a game before leaving. As of March 5th 2013, Nitrome has said that they have 12 employees Nitrome's Facebook page - Hi Nitromians!... | Facebook. Awards |Edge |2011 |The Friday Game: Best of 2011 |The Endless Reliability Award | Nitrome blog: - Happy New Year Nitromians! |- |Pocket Gamer |2015 |Pocket Gamer Awards 2015 |Best Developer | |} External links *Profile on Facebook *Profile on Twitter *Profile on Youtube *Profile on Newgrounds *Profile on Google+ *Website *Page on IGN *Profile on Kongregate *Profile on Steam *Touch Arcade forums account *iOS App Store Developer account *Google Play Developer account *Amazon Appstore Developer account Trivia * Some of Nitrome's game names are based of wordplay and insults (e.g. Four Play, Chick Flick, Square Meal, Headcase, Knuckleheads, Small Fry, and Numbskull). * Nitrome is commonly mispronounced NIT-roam. However, the pronunciation of Nitrome— NIGH-trome — is similar to a word with similar spelling— nichrome — which is pronounced as NIGH-chrome. * Most sound effects (alternatively known as Sound FX) Nitrome uses are used across many games. *If one is uploading a Nitrome video to Youtube, Youtube may suggest the uploader to add the tag "Nitrome (company)" to their tag box. Notes References fgl: Chat Event - Nitrome → nitromemat: rocketman - we used to spend around 4 weeks now it is more like 6 or occassionally 8 if it slips }}}} es:Nitrome zh:Nitrome Category:Companies